A blog about food, fun and life in Glasgow, Scotland and beyond

Set Sail for the Ship Inn, Elie, Fife

Sometimes we all need a bit of a restorative break away don’t we and there is no better place for that than the Scottish seaside. It’s even better when you luck out on the weather like Colin and I did earlier this month. We got in our car, scraped the city of our feet, sang some obligatory Cliff Richard and 2 hours later emerged in our flip flops on the beautiful beach in Elie.

Sleeping

We stayed at the gorgeous Ship Inn, in Elie. This old world pub is in a fantastic location, right on the beach front. It underwent renovations in 2015 and now has a luxurious, modern finish, whilst still being true to its traditional roots. As part of its renovations, 6 bedrooms were added to the pub in the house next door and they are gorgeous. Our room was the Admiral Room, on the top floor, with a roll top bath and a bay window framing the view over the beach it was the perfect place for relaxation. With prices ranging from £90-£140/night bed and breakfast I felt this was great value for money, especially as you can just stumble down to the gorgeous bar for a nightcap or sit out in the gorgeous beer garden.

The Ship Inn is also the only pub in Britain to have a cricket team, with its pitch on the beach so if you time it right you could sit with a Pimms and watch the show.

Eating

On our first night we had dinner in the Ship Inn itself which was divine. Again, the restaurant has a gorgeous view of the sea and is bright and airy. You can also eat in the pub, which serves the same menu.

Food 4/5: For starter I had Seared King Scallops, House-Smoked Duck Breast, Truffle Aioli, Raspberries, Chicory and Pancetta. It was a delight of flavours, fresh and light but with enough bite to make it a hearty starter.

For main I went for a Sirloin Steak with hand cut chips, roast vine tomatoes, rocket and Parmesan, red onion marmalade and a béarnaise sauce. It was a feast and so delicious. I love steak but find it quite difficult to review since it is usually quite formulaic. However, in the case of the Ship Inn they had put a lovely twist on the dish with the red onion marmalade which was gorgeous and added a sweetness to the steak, which balanced well with the buttery béarnaise. It was cooked to perfection.

I didn’t have a pudding as I was quite full, and didn’t fancy the gluten free options of cheese or ice-cream, but Colin had the cheesecake and adored it.

Service 3/5: The service was friendly but slow. The waitress told is they were much busier than expected for a Monday night and understaffed that night. This made the service quite slow and they appeared a little harassed. However, overall it was polite, friendly and they were definitely doing their best on a busy night.

Atmosphere 4/5: The evening was a bright, sunny one and light flooded the restaurant with it’s nautical theme. The atmosphere was busy and filled with chatter. I really enjoyed it. The whole meal was relaxed and the perfect spot to drink some chilled wine and look at a sea view.

Price ££: Starters were ranged from around £4-9 and the mains ranged from £10.50 to £22.50 for the steak. All in all it wasn’t cheap pub grub but the quality far surpassed that so I felt it was good value for money.

Overall 11/15: A really enjoyable meal out, fantastic food, lovely wine and a superbly relaxing surrounding. A real treat for both a feed and a sleep. So what are you waiting for grab your bucket and spade and head to the seaside.